In Case You Missed It: August 17, 2025 Sermon
Kindled by Christ
Series: What Moves You?
Gospel Reading: Luke 12:49–56
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
1. Fire That Looks Risky, But Brings Life
When I was a child in S.Korea, on the first full moon of the year, our whole village gathered for a festival called Jwibulnori.
We would take bundles of straw, light them, put charcoal in a can, and swing them in circles at night. Then we’d kindle long lines of fire along the edges of the rice fields
Now, to an outsider it looked dangerous. Bright flames in the dark. Crackling, smoky, hot. As a kid, I remember both excitement and fear.
But the fire had a purpose. It burned away the dead weeds. It chased out pests and insects hiding in the soil. And it prepared the ground for a better harvest.
The fire wasn’t meant to destroy the field.
The fire made the field ready.
Here in the U.S., we have something similar: a controlled burn. Rangers and foresters intentionally set small fires—prescribed burns—to prevent devastating wildfires, to return nutrients to the soil, and to open space for healthy new growth.
At first glance, fire looks like destruction.
But when handled with wisdom, fire restores the land.
It judges what can’t stay.
It purifies what needs to remain.
It heals the ecosystem.
And it releases new life.
That’s the picture I carry when I hear Jesus say:
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49)
2. The Fire Jesus Longs to Kindle
Jesus is not talking about a wildfire out of control. He is talking about God’s holy fire—a purposeful, refining, Spirit-filled flame.
A refining fire that burns away impurity (Malachi 3:2–3).
A Spirit fire that awakens the church for mission (Acts 2:3–4).
A healing fire that purifies our motives, restores what is wounded, and empowers faithfulness (Isaiah 53:5).
In Scripture, fire exposes what is false, but it also cleanses and renews.
And Jesus longs for this fire—not just as a metaphor, not as an idea, but as a living reality among us.
3. The Match That Lights the Fire
Then Jesus says,
“I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” (Luke 12:50)
That baptism is the cross.
The cross is where the match is struck.
The cross is where Christ’s mission bursts into full flame.
At the cross, the kingdoms of this world and the Kin-dom of God collide.
The world rules by power and violence (John 18:36).
God reigns through love and service—
the Son taking the form of a servant (Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:6–8).The world grabs power with lies, betrayal, and manipulation (Luke 22:47–53).
The Son of God brings truth that sets people free
(John 8:32).
On the cross,
Truth unmasks the false peace of coercion.
Love disarms the cycle of fear.
And the Servant-King kindles a new kind of reign:
self-giving love that heals and sets free (Isaiah 53:5).
4. Why the Fire Feels Like Division
Jesus goes on:
“Do you think I came to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:51–53)
That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?
But think again about a prescribed fire.
A controlled burn separates what must go from what can stay.
Christ’s fire does the same.
Some resist; some receive.
Even households feel the tension.
This doesn’t mean Jesus loves conflict.
It means Jesus unmasks false peace.
He reveals our loyalties.
Division is not the end goal.
But sometimes it is the sign that new creation is beginning.
So I ask us, Simsbury:
When Christ’s fire burns, are we clinging to false peace?
Or are we opening space for true shalom?
5. Reading the God-Season
Jesus also says:
“You know how to read the clouds. You can predict rain or heat. But why can’t you read this present time?” (Luke 12:54–56)
We are so good at reading calendars and schedules.
But can we read the God-season we are in?
This is not just chronos—ordinary calendar time.
This is Kairos—God’s decisive season breaking in.
At Simsbury UMC, I believe we are in such a season.
Last week, we finished the Backpack Ministry.
By grace, we were able to give school supplies to children whose names we may never know. That was a sign of Christ’s healing fire—burning away despair, kindling hope for the school year.
And next Sunday, on August 24, we will gather for Blessing of the Backpacks. We’ll bless our children, their teachers, and their families as they begin a new school year on August 27. That blessing will be our way of saying: these children are not alone. They carry the prayers and fire of this community into their classrooms.
And then comes Rally Day, September 7. There will be only one combined service and then we will have opportunities. Another chances for us to re-commit to ministries already alive among us, and to open ourselves for new ministries God may be inspiring. The Spirit is still kindling fire here, preparing us for what’s ahead. This is not just our calendar.
This is Kairos.
This is God’s time.
6. The Four Roles of Holy Fire
Think again about fire in a controlled burn. One fire has several purposes.
In Christ, God’s holy fire works the same way.
Judgment — exposing idols, lies, resentments (1 Corinthians 3:13–15).
Purification — cleansing motives, refining character (Malachi 3:2–3).
Healing — like a surgeon’s cauterizing flame—painful, yet life-saving (Isaiah 53:5).
Spirit empowerment — igniting courage and mission (Acts 2:3–4).
And the match? Always the cross.
At the cross,
Christ judges falsehood,
purifies the faithful,
heals the broken,
and pours out the Spirit who kindles the church for the Kin-dom.
7. Our Sign—Cross and Flame
Think of our United Methodist logo.
A cross with a flame by its side.
That logo is not decoration.
It is our story in one picture:
the cross where Christ struck the flame,
and the Spirit who keeps it burning in us.
We are not a museum of memories.
We are a community kindled by Christ,
kept burning by the Spirit, sent into the world for life.
8. Kindled—Here and Now
So, beloved, this is our invitation today.
Not to fear the fire, but to welcome it.
Let Christ kindle what must live.
Let Christ burn away what keeps us from love.
So let me ask one last question for this season at Simsbury:
Will we let Christ kindle His holy fire in us—so that, together, we live this God-season with courage, truth, and love?
Then open your arms and heart and repeat after me,
Come, Holy Spirit.
Kindle the fire again.
Kindle it in our hearts.
Kindle it in this church.
Kindle it in our children.
Kindle it in our town.
Amen.
Reflection Questions
1. Where do you sense Christ’s fire judging something that cannot remain—an idol, a fear, a false peace? (Luke 12:51–53; 1 Corinthians 3:13–15)
2. Where do you sense Christ’s fire purifying desire and motive into love? (Malachi 3:2–3)
3. Where do you need Christ’s fire to heal—to cauterize a wound and make space for life? (Isaiah 53:5)
4. Where do you see the Spirit empowering you—or us as a church—for witness and service? (Acts 2:3–4)
5. As a congregation, what does it look like to live this God-season faithfully at SUMC right now? (Luke 12:54–56)